The
aftermath of an explosion that took place at a Coptic church on
Sunday in Tanta, Egypt, April 9, 2017.
REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

by  Reuters and Rebecca Harrington

TANTA, Egypt/CAIRO (Reuters) – At least 44 people were killed in
bomb attacks on two Egyptian Coptic churches on Palm Sunday that
included the seat of the Coptic Pope, the latest assault on a
religious minority increasingly targeted by Islamist militants. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, which
also injured more than 100 people and occurred a week before
Coptic Easter, with Pope Francis scheduled to visit Egypt later
this month. The first bombing, in Tanta, a Nile Delta city about 60 miles
north of Cairo, tore through the inside of St. George Church
during its Palm Sunday service, killing at least 27 people and
injuring at least 78, the Ministry of Health said. The second, carried out a few hours later by a suicide bomber in
Alexandria, hit Saint Mark’s Cathedral, the historic seat of the
Coptic Pope, killing 16 people, including three police officers,
and injuring 41, the ministry added. Coptic Pope Tawadros, who had attended mass at Saint Mark’s
Cathedral, was still in the building at the time of the explosion
but was not harmed, the Interior Ministry said. “These acts will not harm the unity and cohesion of the people,”
Tawadros said later, according to state media.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi condemned the attacks and summoned
the National Defence Council to an urgent session. Deflecting Western criticism that he has suppressed political
opposition and human rights activists since he won election in
2014, Sisi has sought to present himself as an indispensable
bulwark against terrorism in the Middle East, and he identifies
militant Islam as an existential threat. “The attack … will only harden the determination (of the
Egyptian people) to move forward on their trajectory to realize
security, stability and comprehensive development,” Sisi said in
a statement. US President Donald Trump expressed his condolences via Twitter
on Sunday morning. He and Sisi met at the White House on Monday,
April 3. “So sad to hear of the terrorist attack in Egypt,” he
tweeted. “US strongly condemns. I have great confidence
that President Al Sisi will handle situation properly.”

Egyptians
gather in front of a Coptic church that was bombed on Sunday in
Tanta, Egypt, April 9, 2017.
REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Thousands of Egyptians gathered outside the Tanta church shortly
after the blast, some weeping and wearing black. They described a scene of carnage. “There was blood all over the
floor and body parts scattered,” said a Christian woman who was
inside the church at the time of the attack. “There was a huge explosion in the hall. Fire and smoke filled
the room and the injuries were extremely severe,” another
Christian woman, Vivian Fareeg, said.

‘We feel targeted’

A
relative of one of the victims reacts after a church explosion
killed at least 21 in Tanta, Egypt, April 9,
2017.
REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El
Ghany

Islamic State’s branch in Egypt appears to be stepping up attacks
and threats against Christians, who comprise about 10% of Egypt’s
90 million people and amount to the biggest Christian minority in
the Middle East.

In February, scores of Christian families and students fled
Egypt’s North Sinai province after a spate of targeted killings.

Those attacks followed one of the deadliest on Egypt’s Christian
minority, when a suicide bomber hit its largest Coptic cathedral,
killing at least 25 people. Islamic State later claimed
responsibility for that attack.

Islamic State has waged a low-level war against soldiers and
police in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula for years. It now seems to be
changing tactics, targeting Christian civilians and broadening
its reach into Egypt’s mainland. That is a potential turning
point in a country trying to prevent a provincial insurgency from
spiraling into wider sectarian bloodshed.

Though Copts have in the past faced attacks by Muslim neighbors,
who have burnt their homes and churches in poor rural areas, the
Christian community has felt increasingly insecure since Islamic
State spread through Iraq and Syria in 2014 and ruthlessly going
after religious minorities.

A
general view is seen as Egyptians gather by a Coptic church that
was bombed on Sunday in Tanta, Egypt, April 9,
2017.
REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El
Ghany

“Of course we feel targeted, there was a bomb here about a week
ago but it was dismantled. There’s no security,” said another
Christian woman in Tanta. She was referring to an attack earlier
this month near a police training center that killed one
policeman and injured 15.

Wahby Lamie, who had one nephew killed and another nephew injured
in the Tanta blast, expressed exasperation at the growing number
of attacks.

“How much longer are we going to be this divided? Anyone who’s
different from them now is an infidel, whether they’re Muslim or
Christian. They see them as infidels,” he said.

“How much longer are these people going to exist? And how much
longer will security be this incompetent?”

 

(Additional Reuters reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Mahmoud
Mourad, Mohammed Abdellah, and Amina Ismail; Writing by Eric
Knecht; editing by Larry King and Alexander